The Attempt
by pulchra fabula
Summary: First part of "The Damian Effect". Damian Wayne was just getting away from Drake and his annoying friends. He didn't expect to find trouble with some teenager named Alex Rider. Sequel now up-see inside for details.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! If you have knowledge of the DC Universe or the Alex Rider books, skip ahead to the story. If not, I have a small summary for each for you so you know what I'm talking about. **

**DC: This uses Damian Wayne (Robin) who is Bruce Wayne's (Batman's) biological child who was raised by his crazy mother (Talia al Gul) and the League of Assassins. So Damian is a brat and a badass. He's the Robin to Dick Grayson's Batman (former Robin and Nightwing). Tim Drake (former Robin) is now Red Robin. Tim's friends are ConnerKent (Superboy), Cassie Sandsmark (Wonder Girl) and Bart Allen (Kid Flash, formerly Impulse). Tim and Damian don't get along. If you have any other questions, either Google them or PM me. **

**Alex Rider: He's a teenage spy who has save the world nine times in the span of a year. (He started at 14 and ended his career at 15.) He was unwilling the entire time he worked for MI6, and lost his guardian (Jack) in his final mission. This take place post-Scorpia Rising (the 9****th**** and final book) when Alex moves to live with his friend Sabina and her family. Again, PM me with questions or Wikipedia it if you're confused.**

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><p>Damian Wayne huffed in annoyance. All he wanted was a cup of black coffee and a quiet place to drink it, away from the Teen Titans. Of course the only place that sold decent coffee was very crowded. Grumbling to himself, he found a small table in the back corner of the café and sat down.<p>

Damian's eyes scanned the room, seeing if there was any threat. The table to his left had a couple holding hands as the shared some pastries. The stared into each other's eyes with such longing that it made Damian slightly sick.

There was an old man a few seats down, who had on thick glasses as he read the newspaper. He drank his coffee and began to start on the crossword puzzle. The employees didn't raise any suspicions, and the other patrons seemed to be normal as well.

Damian took a long sip of his drink as he studied the boy at the table to his right. He was a few years older than Damian, with blonde hair and tanned skin. Damian noticed a few girls looking his way. The teenager didn't seem to realize the attention his was getting; he kept his head down and eyes low as he read a book.

He looked as if he were hiding himself; as if he were worried someone would recognize him. Damian scoffed at the idea. Surely no one was looking for a normal teenager.

Unless…Damian began to study the boy. He didn't look like any of the Titan's enemies, but then again, Damian had never really studied the foes of Drake and his friends. There was nothing special about the blonde boy, Damian decided, after making mental calculations about the teenager. He was just another American oddity.

"Anyone sitting there?" a tall skinny girl with a low-cut shirt and short skirt asked the blonde boy.

He looked up at the girl. "No," he replied in a British accent.

Damian reassessed his earlier thought; he was a British weirdo then. Maybe he was trying to star in a movie or something like that.

The girl sat down across from the blonde boy, who had put his head back down and was reading again. She stretched her legs out so that her bare skin was making contact with the teen's legs as well. He made no motion that he acknowledged her presence and the girl frown at him. Damian grinned into his cup of coffee. He could sense that this would be interesting to watch.

"So," the girl began sweetly, what's your name? I bet it's some sexy British name. A perfect name to go with your perfect body."

Damian snorted at the same time the blonde boy did; the girl still smiled at him.

"Alex," the blonde boy tonelessly replied, still ignoring her.

"Well, Alex," the girl purred, "I'm Anna. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, same," Alex replied, clearly not paying a lot of attention to the conversation.

Damian listened as the girl babbled on and Alex continued to ignore her. Finally the Anna asked, "So, Alex, want to head over to my place?"

"No thanks," Alex replied. Anna's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

"As much as I'm honored and all of that," Alex told her, still not looking up, "but I have a girlfriend. Have a nice day." Damian held back a laugh at the insulted look on the girl's face.

"You dare to insult me?" she snarled. "You're scum!"

Damian couldn't resist. "You are referring to him as scum? Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like a whore." Alex looked up and smiled at the boy in amusement.

"And just who do you think you are, you little brat?" Anna questioned, whirling around to stare at him.

"An innocent ten-year-old boy," Damian replied sweetly and Alex grinned at him.

"I doubt that," she sneered. She huffed, got up and walked away. Before she exited, Anna turned and gave the two boys the finger. The door slammed behind her.

"Thanks kid," Alex told Damian as he sagged back into his seat.

"It was my pleasure," Damian replied with a malicious grin.

"Have a seat," Alex said, motioning to the one Anna abandoned. Damian thought about it; he hated pretty much everyone, as they were annoying and stupid. But there was something he liked about this British kid sitting in front of him. Somehow, Damian doubted that Alex would treat him like some little child. Finally, deciding to give it a chance, Damian got up and sat across from Alex.

"I'm Alex," the British teenager introduced himself.

"Damian," Damian responded.

"So Damian," Alex asked, grinning, "what brings you to this place?"

"Coffee," the boy replied.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Well, coffee-obsessed child, thank you for your help."

"Are you here on vacation?" Damian inquired. "I noticed you're not from around here."

"What gave it away? Was it the accent? I just can't seem to perfect the American one."

"Yes, I expect it might have been that fact," Damian replied in an exact replica of Alex's accent.

Alex's jaw dropped. "How did you do that? That's the best imitation I've heard. And I've heard a lot of attempts."

"I have the ability to mimic anyone's voice."

"That must be cool."

"It does produce interesting results," Damian agreed. "So why are you in California?"

Alex sighed as he tonelessly replied, "My parents died and I'm staying with family friends."

Damian found himself nodding and feeling bad for the boy's plight. "I understand."

"Do you?" Alex questioned a bit aggressively in Damian's mind.

Damian's faced hardened. "Yeah. I grew up with my mother, never saw my father, only heard how great he was. I finally seek him out only to find he's adopted a couple other kids and doesn't want me at all. He doesn't trust me because of my mother, and now he's gone missing. I think I understand the whole family issue," he shot back at Alex, debating whether to leave or stay.

"Sorry," Alex grunted. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"-tt-" Damian responded. He looked out the window, trying not to recall how painful the truth about his family was. A man with dark sunglasses stared back at him through the window. Damian was immediately on edge. Alex noticed the rigid posture of Damian and saw the man as well. He paled.

"Tell me he's not looking at us," Alex muttered.

"Do you wish for me to lie?" Damian asked.

"Listen to me Damian," Alex ordered. "I need you to run. Get as far away from me as possible; he doesn't want you."

Damian raised his eyebrow, "I was about to order you to do the same."

"What? You're just a ten-year-old kid? Why would they want you?"

"-tt-. I'm Damian Wayne. Ransom is just one of the possible reasons that someone who want to kidnap me."

"_That_ Wayne?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

"So why would you think that the man was looking for you?"

"Um…" Alex cleared his throat nervously. Before he could begin to explain that he couldn't explain, the man outside raised and gun and began to fire upon the café. "Backdoor. Now," Alex ordered as he and Damian began to run towards the other exit. The rest of the people in the café screamed and dropped to the floor, breathing heavily in fear.

The two boys scooted toward the door, keeping their heads low and their bodies hidden. The people looked at them with wide eyes, as Alex mouthed a "sorry" as he and Damian left the building.

As Damian stepped out the door, another bullet was fired; he dove out of the way and pulled Alex to the ground with him. "Move," the boy hissed, and the teenager complied, leading Damian around corner of the building.

Alex swore as Damian was grabbed by another man and a gun was held to the side of his head. The boy's captor was tall, and covered in muscle; they bulged out and made the man looked quite intimidating. The boy was in a chokehold, and Alex froze at the sight of the gun.

"Rider," the man growled, "glad you could make it." As the man who had shot at the café came behind and grabbed the teenager as well.

"Shaw," the man holding Damian acknowledged, "who's this little brat?" He tapped the gun on the top of the boy's head.

"Leave him alone," Alex growled, struggling against Shaw's grip.

"Larson," Shaw commanded, "Tie them up and put them both in the van."

As soon as he finished speaking, Damian elbowed his captor, punched him in the nose, and began to run as Alex yelled at him to escape and get help.

Damian was proud that he had tricked the men; they thought he was just some young child. The man had no idea he was dealing with someone trained by the League of Assassins. He needed to get Drake and his idiot friends to help; Damian didn't know what Alex was involved in, but he didn't want him getting hurt.

A loud sound and piecing pain alerted Damian that he would not escape unharmed. Blood began pouring from his shoulder, and dimly Damian heard Alex screaming. He stumbled as his vision went hazy for a moment, and fell face first into the ground.

Alex's screams stopped. Damian sluggishly tried to get up, but his head was killing him. Strong hands grabbed the boy and lifted him over his shoulder. Damian's head was throbbing and his vision was warped.

"Throw in the little bastard," he heard Shaw command angrily, before he was literally _thrown_ into the van. He barely had time to register Alex, bound and gagged, before he, too, was tied up. Larson moved his shoulder and pain shot through Damian. He clenched his teeth as he sent a kick in the man's direction.

A backhand to the face was what the boy receives for his efforts. With a severe warning not to do anything, _or else_, the door was slammed shut and Damian descended into blackness.

**Hey gys, so please leave me a review and tell me what you think.**

**This will be a 3-shot, and I hope you enjoy it! **

**Reviews=love :) **


	2. Chapter 2

When he woke up, he was still bound, but not gagged, and laying on the floor in a locked room. Groggily, Damian began to sit up.

"Careful now," a voice cautioned. It took a second for Damian to register that it was Alex. He too, was bound. Damian forced himself to sit up. He leaned his head back against the wall and he looked at Alex. "Are you alright Damian?"

"I've been shot," Damian replied, "But I shall be recover."

"You're taking this pretty well for someone who's been kidnapped and shot," Alex commented.

"-tt-" Damian responded, "I have been in worse situations."

Alex raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"My mother was not, shall we say, the stereotypical loving mother. She did things…differently," Damian evasively answered.

Alex simply nodded and left it at that. Damian glared at his restraints, wishing, for a moment, that he could be like Conner Kent and use heat vision to melt the zip-ties. Instead, Damian refrained from sighing as he gazed over at Alex, who was fidgeting in an attempt to get lose.

"Why do they want you?" Damian questioned the teenager.

"I'm not sure," Alex murmured. Damian knew that he was lying.

"The truth, Alex _Rider_," Damian sneered, emphasizing that he knew the teen's last name.

"I can't tell you," Alex shot back.

"We're currently residing in a cell together," Damian pointed out. "I believe I have a right to know why."

"You were the one who cause trouble," Alex pointed out. Damian glared at him.

"And I took a bullet in the hope that we could get help," the boy quickly countered. Alex winced at the reminder of Damian's wound.

"Do you really want to know?" Alex asked closing his eyes, as he already knew the answer.

"Of course," Damian replied.

Alex sighed. "What I'm about to tell you in the truth, alright? No matter how crazy or unbelievable it seems, I swear I am not lying to you. Got that?" Damian nodded. Alex took a deep breath and muttered something Damian couldn't hear before saying "I used to be a spy."

The words "I don't believe you" were on the tip of Damian's tongue. But he looked into Alex's eyes and realized just how serious the teenager was. And it did kind of make sense; besides, a teenager spy was nothing compared to a preteen assassin.

"Which division?" Damian asked. Alex appeared shocked that Damian believed him. He flashed the boy a grateful smile.

"MI6. It's England's—" Alex said.

"—division that deals with overseas threats," Damian finished. "I know of it." Alex nodded. The spent a few minutes in silence until Damian voiced another question.

"So what did you do that lead to this mess," he asked, jerking his head to indicate their surroundings. "You said 'used to be'. Why are these people after you?"

Alex scoffed, "And that is the million-dollar question. I'm done with the spy business; I don't understand why these people are coming after me now."

"So we're being held by maniacs? Fantastic," Damian grumbled.

Alex grinned wryly, "Welcome to my world."

And the two of them fell into comfortable silence. Damian found himself thinking what Drake would do if he saw him now; he would never let Damian live this down. Grayson would mother-hen him to death when he saw the bullet wound. Pennyworth would just look at him with the all-knowing gaze as he removed the bullet and stitched up his shoulder. And Father…Father wouldn't say anything. Damian didn't think that Bruce would care if anything happened to him; he still didn't trust his own son.

Damian was startled from his ponderings by the opening of the door. Larson entered the room, gun in hand. He leveled it at Damian's head as Shaw entered the room and stood over Alex.

"Alex Rider," he sneered. "You'll come with me or watch your young friend die." Alex glanced over at Damian and nodded at Shaw.

"Fine. But you better not hurt him," Alex retorted.

Shaw smiled and held up his hand in which he had a walkie-talkie. "If you do anything," Shaw warned, "I will tell Larson and he will shoot this boy. Maybe in the knee, maybe in the stomach, or possibly even the head. And you will be listening and know that _you_ were the cause of his pain. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Alex snarled.

"Good." Shaw gripped Alex's arm and hoisted him to his feet, cutting the zip-ties around his ankles. Alex awkwardly found his footing and, stumbling, was shoved by Shaw out of the room. With a last look at Damian, Alex was thrust into the hallway and the door was shut.

Damian began to plot. One man was way too easy to take down, after all. He was Robin, trained by the League of Assassins. And now that Alex was no longer in the room, it was time to become a terror of the night.

Damian bid his time; Larson got bored after a few minutes and allowed his eyes to wander and his posture to relax.

Mother would never let these people into the League, Damian thought as he watched the man. They were absolutely pathetic!

Larson's legs were within striking distance. Damian acted, swinging his legs and knocking Larson's out from under him. As soon as he hit the ground, Damian was on top of his, cutting off his air supply until he blacked out. It was done quickly and quietly.

Searching through the man's pockets was a slight challenge due to his bound wrists and injured shoulder, but Damian soon found the knife he was looking for. Slicing apart the zip-ties around his legs, Damian began to try and cut the ties around his wrists. He only nicked himself with the knife a few times before he succeeded and was free.

Making sure he had all the feeling in his limbs, Damian took Larson's belt and tied the man's arm together behind his back. Damian used the knife to cut off a section of Larson's shirt and he used it to gag the man. Smiling at his handiwork, he opened the door and stealthy made in way into the hallway.

He had left the gun because he didn't want his prints on it, and Father would have a heart attack if he found out Damian had a gun. And Damian did not want to do anything to give his Father a further reason not to trust him.

Damian listened; there were no sounds except for muffled talking further down the hall. Taking not of his surroundings, Damian concluded they were in an abandoned office building and no one besides the four of them was there.

Twirling the knife anxiously, Damian silently made his down the hallway to the door with noises behind it. As he reached his destination, he cautiously glanced through the window on the door.

Alex was tied to a chair, bruised and bleeding. As Damian watched, Shaw struck again and viciously smacked him across the face. Alex made some sort of remark that must have offended Shaw because the next thing Damian saw was a knife held to Alex's throat. There were already cut marks on his arms and tears in his shirt. Damian wasn't about to wait for this man to lose his patience and slit Alex's throat. It was time to act.

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><p><strong>Sooooo very sorry for the wait. My computer was on the fritz. <strong>

**Please review; it makes me extremely happy :) **


	3. Chapter 3

As Shaw took a step back, hand still clenching the knife, Damian pounced. Throwing open the door, the boy took a flying leap and landed on the man's back. Kicking the knife out of Shaw's hands, Damian sent it flying to the other side of the room. Twisting his body, Damian brought Shaw to the floor, whereupon Damian slammed the man's head on the ground a few times in order to make him unconscious. Feeling vindictive, he delivered a kick for good measure.

"That was bloody awesome," Alex commented as Damian turned around and moved to free the teenager. Slicing the zip-ties and ropes the kept Alex tied to the chair, Damian replied with a grim smile.

"Thank my mother," he muttered under his breath. Alex heard him, but pretended that he didn't. Gingerly Alex stood up and stretched his limbs, reopening some of his wounds, which started to bleed anew.

"How's your arm?" Alex asked as he motioned toward Damian's blood crusted and limp left shoulder.

"Don't really feel anything," Damian replied nonchalantly. "Come on, we need to get out of here." Alex nodded and the two of them slowly and carefully made their way out the door.

"Stop for a second," Alex commanded as they walked past an ajar door. He darted inside and returned with two cell-phones in his hand. He threw one to Damian, who caught in his right hand. "They took these from us while you were unconscious. You might want to call someone to pick you up," Alex remarked. The two of them began to walk away quickly.

"As long as we're hell and gone from here," Damian muttered as he opened his cell. He couldn't figure out who to call. Grayson was in Gotham and would have a heart attack if he heard Damian managed to get himself into trouble when he _wasn't_ Robin. And he couldn't call Alfred; that left Drake and his band of fools. Damian sighed.

The two of them stopped at a park roughly two blocks away from the abandoned building. It was near dusk, so the park was empty. Damian and Alex were both glad for that fact; it would be hard to explain their wounds and why they were covered in blood.

"You going to just sit on that bench or are you going to call someone to get you?" Alex finally asked after he observed Damian stare at his phone for a few minutes.

"You don't have to babysit me, you know," Damian told the teenager, "I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that. But I'm afraid if I leave you here, you won't call a family member for help. And you need to get that shoulder looked at."

Damian scowled. He had planned on doing exactly that. Glaring darkly at his phone, he dialed Tim Drake's number and listened as it rang. He half-hoped that Drake didn't pick up.

"Damian?" Drake voice came over the phone and Damian swore mentally.

"Drake, I need you to come pick me up at—" Damian began.

"What the hell do you think this is?" Drake bellowed so loud that Damian held the phone away from his ear and Alex could hear the anger in the young man's voice. "I don't have time to babysit you while you go off to murder little babies in their sleep. Just because you don't like my friends doesn't mean you have the right to make my life miserable! So why don't you just—"

"Excuse me?" Alex had snatched the phone from Damian against the boy's protests and now spoke to the angered teenager.

"Damian?" he questioned, "That British accents thing is complete—"

"I am not Damian," Alex quickly corrected him. "My name is Alex. Who am I talking too?"

"Tim."

"Well, Tim," Alex said, "you need to stop yelling and listen to me for a minute. Damian and I were kidnapped earlier, and I need you to come pick him up at the Jump City Park. I would also call an ambulance because he had a bullet imbedded in his shoulder."

"Wait, what?" Tim asked, confused.

"Come to the park now," Alex ordered as he hung up the phone.

Damian avoided Alex's gaze, but murmured a quiet, "Thanks." Alex smiled. They two of them sat side-by-side and waited until a fancy black car showed up. As the doors opened and Drake and some of his friend came rushing out, Damian groaned.

Conner Kent, Superboy. Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl. Bart Allen, Kid Flash. Timothy Drake, Red Robin. As Damian watched them come out of the car, he sulked more and more. At least they all had the decency to come in their civilian identities.

"Let the kid go," Conner ordered, folding his arms and looking over at Alex. The former spy raised an eyebrow.

"Kent, he is not the problem," Damian huffed. "I simply would like to go home and clean my shoulder, thank you very much."

"If he's not the problem, who exactly is he?" Cassie snapped back.

"A friend," Alex butted in before Damian could say anything. The boy watched as the older teens' jaws dropped in disbelief.

"What?" Bart managed to choke out.

"I'm Damian's friend," Alex spoke slowly, conveying that he thought that were slow on the uptake. "And the two of us got kidnapped. And then we escaped. And I really think you should get Damian's shoulder looked at. It's not good for a bullet to be in there for that long."

Startled silence followed Alex's words. Tim finally collected himself and stared at Damian's arm, wincing at the crusted blood around the wound and on the boy's shirt. "You alright with that bullet in your arm?" he asked.

"Just peachy," Damian sarcastically shot back.

"Looks painful," Tim commented. Damian just gave him _a look_ and Tim wisely shut up.

"Let's go Damian," Drake ordered. "We'll get someone to fix your shoulder up for you."

"-tt-" Damian responded. He turned to face Alex. "Thank you Alex."

Alex smiled at him. "No problem. If anything comes up or you just want to grab another coffee, my cell number's in your phone."

"I shall remember that," Damian told the teenager. "Will you be alright getting home?"

"Yeah," Alex replied. "I texted Sabina; her family's taking care of me."

"See you around, Rider," Damian called as Tim led him to the car.

"Later kid," Alex waved as he began to walk off.

"Do you, uh, need a lift?" Tim awkwardly asked.

Alex shook his head, "I'm good. I promise." Tim looked at Bart as Alex turned his back on them and began to walk away. "See ya!" Alex called. Tim whispered to Bart to follow Alex and report back. With a nod and salute, Kid Flash began his mission.

"Really Drake," Damian commented, "that was hardly necessary."

"You," was all Drake said before he shook his head and got into the car, pulling Damian in after him.

"Me what Drake?"

"You know what? Never mind," Tim said as Cassie and Conner got into the car as well. "We'll get someone to tend to your shoulder. How did that happen anyway?"

"A man pulled the trigger of a gun and it embedded itself in my shoulder as I ran to get help," Damian replied.

"What did you do to that man?" Conner questioned harshly as he turned to look at him.

Damian rolled his eyes and sighed. "I know you do not trust me, but I did nothing wrong. The man who shot me and beat Alex is currently tied up with a pounding headache and minor bruising and bleeding on his face. His accomplice is tied up in another room, looking none worse for the wear."

Conner grunted and Tim cleared his throat. "Glad to see you restraining yourself."

"I restrain myself all the time Drake," Damian shot back. "You're still walking around, aren't you?" Settling back into the seat Damian gazed out the window.

"Let me clean you up," Cassie sighed, pulling out some wipes and gauze. "At least put this on your wrists," she pleaded after Damian had cleaned the blood off his wrists. Grudgingly, Damian allowed her to bandage his wrists. "What were these from anyway?"

"Trying to use the man's knife to slice apart the zip-ties with a useless shoulder," Damian nonchalantly replied. "I needed to find Alex and get the hell out of there." Damian was still looking down, so he missed Tim's startled look that he exchanged with his teammates and the mouthing of the words "_he cares?_"

"After we get back to the Tower, _you_ are explaining this mess to Bruce, Alfred, and Dick, understand me?" Tim told the younger boy.

"-tt-. Of course," Damian responded. And he spent the rest of the ride in silence, reflecting on the fact that Alex had called him a friend. Maybe they two of them could be friends after all. Damian allowed himself a private smile as he gazed out at the window and studied the sun.

On the top of another building, unnoticed by everyone else, a man clothed in a copper and black stood. He was wearing a body suit with weapons stashed everywhere. He was Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator, and he had just found a way to exploit his enemy.

"Be prepared Dick Grayson," Slade vowed, "for your world is about to be shaken."

**Thanks for staying with me this long! There will be a sequel, and I plan on having Damian Wayne traversing the realms of different universes. :)**

** Please review! :)**

** and thanks again!**


	4. Announcement

**Hi all! This is just to tell you that the sequel to this is up—it's called "The Exploited" and it can be found either:**

**a)On my profile or**

**b) in the Batman/NCIS crossover section.**

**I'd love it if you'd check it out! Thanks for all of your support! **

**-Pulchra Fabula **


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